My quaint little country area has become a cesspool of corrupt policeman, heroin, the occasional murder mystery, and pill heads. This is a sad truth which often gets swept under the red carpet. We have a sheriff who was on a documentary about the worst areas for the pill epidemic and he actually showed the reporters a drawer in his office where he keeps the confiscated pills. Not only was it full, but I questioned, why is he keeping it in his own office? Shouldn’t it be locked up in a safe somewhere, redistributed to a pharmacy, or destroyed? Corruption is a real problem here. It’s a real problem everywhere. But I can remember when as a child I could ride my bicycle all over town and my parents never feared my safety. But times have changed. When I was 18, this is when I started to see this. I was constantly being pulled over by police men because they were having competitions to see who could pull the most people over, or they thought I was cute…. It was scary and I learned early in life to know my rights. I have never been to jail and knowing my rights is the reason why. I was even pulled over by a drunken cop once with impersonated police men for backup! He got a weeks suspension with pay as punishment. We have once good citizens becoming prison guards who take up the lifestyle of the prisoners, but escape punishment every time. It’s horrible that our “protectors” are going out and getting high every night. The ways of this town where to keep your sanity, you are expected to maintain ignorance is not in my nature. I love the beauty here. But the land is being destroyed by factories and miners. I love camping and bonfires. But the music and art scene is what keeps me here. We are the movers and shakers in this town. No one else. We are misunderstood by locals. But they also love us because we provide an escape through our songs and art. There are so many factories around here that I can hardly breath half of the time. I was told by a doctor that the only way to stop having my recurrent sinus infections would be to move. But I have ties here. I have family, I have friends who I consider family, and I have my band and a Comoro dory with fellow musicians and artists who are involved in trying to make this area better. A drifters life is what I dream of.

And this is where I will finally get to my point. The fact that I want to go! But my people here are… well people of here. I am different. I chase butterflies and seek adventure. I could always relate to The Wizard of Oz. Because, I am the type of person who does nothing but dream. I wish to follow the yellow brick road so bad that I may some day just flex and bust out of this town! I’ve done so before years ago. My family did not take it well. Now I am filled with fear. But I will get the courage to leave one day. I’m not sure if I’m Dorothy or I am the cowardly lion. And I am ok with that. But who am I to complain? If you have seen the Wizard of Oz, and I’m sure you have, you will know that the cowardly lion may have been scared. But he eventually made it to Oz with the help of his friends.